| A Streetcar Named Desire | |
|---|---|
 First edition (New Directions) | |
| Written by | Tennessee Williams |
| Characters |
|
| Date premiered | December 3, 1947 |
| Place premiered | Ethel Barrymore Theatre New York City,New York |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Southern Gothic |
| Setting | TheFrench Quarter andDowntown New Orleans |
A Streetcar Named Desire is a play written byTennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947.[1] The play dramatizes the experiences ofBlanche DuBois, a formerSouthern belle who, after encountering a series of personal losses, leaves her once-prosperous situation to move into a shabby apartment inNew Orleans rented by her younger sister Stella and brother-in-law Stanley.
A Streetcar Named Desire is one of the most critically acclaimed plays of the 20th century[2] and Williams's most popular work. It still ranks among his most performed plays, and has inspired many adaptations in other forms, notably acritically acclaimed film that was released in 1951.[3]
Blanche is mentioned in the play as arriving at Stella's apartment by riding in astreetcar on the Desirestreetcar line. Tennessee Williams was living in an apartment on Toulouse Street in New Orleans' French Quarter when he wroteA Streetcar Named Desire. The old Desire streetcar line ran only a half-block away.
In the 1951 film, Blanche is shown riding the car. In the interim between writing the play and shooting the film, though, the line was converted into a bus service (1948), and the production team had to seek permission from the authorities to hire out a streetcar with the "Desire" name on it.[4]
After the loss of her family home to creditors,Blanche DuBois travels fromLaurel, Mississippi, to the New OrleansFrench Quarter to live with her younger married sister,Stella, and Stella's husband,Stanley Kowalski. She is in her thirties and, with no money, has nowhere else to go.
Blanche tells Stella that she has taken a leave of absence from her English-teaching position because of her nerves (which is later revealed to be a lie). Blanche laments the shabbiness of her sister's two-room flat. She finds Stanley loud and rough, eventually referring to him as "common". Stanley, in return, is suspicious of Blanche, does not care for her manners and resents her presence which is already interfering with his regimented but hedonistic lifestyle.
From the first scene, Blanche is nervous and jittery. She is reluctant to be seen in the glare of light and seems to have a drinking problem. She is also deceptive and is critical of her sister and brother-in-law.
Stanley later questions Blanche about her earlier marriage. Blanche had married when she was very young, but her husband committed suicide. This memory causes her obvious distress. The reader later learns she suffers from guilt due to the way she had reacted to finding out her husband'shomosexuality and his fatal reaction. Stanley, worried that he has been cheated out of an inheritance, demands to know what happened to Belle Reve, once a largeplantation and the DuBois family home. He tells Stella about theNapoleonic Code, stating that with it a husband had control over his wife's financial affairs. Blanche hands over all the documents pertaining to Belle Reve. While looking at the papers, Stanley notices a bundle of letters that Blanche emotionally proclaims are personal love letters from her dead husband. For a moment, Stanley seems caught off guard over her proclaimed feelings. Afterwards, he informs Blanche that Stella is going to have a baby.
The night after Blanche's arrival, during one of Stanley's poker games, Blanche meets Mitch, one of Stanley'spoker player buddies. His courteous manner sets him apart from the other men. Their chat becomes flirtatious and friendly, and Blanche easily charms him; they like each other. Suddenly becoming upset over repeated interruptions, Stanley explodes in a drunken rage and strikes Stella. Blanche and Stella take refuge with the upstairs neighbor, Eunice Hubbell. When Stanley recovers, he cries out from the courtyard below for Stella to come back by repeatedly calling her name until she comes down and allows herself to be carried off to bed. Blanche is shocked to see that her sister has returned to her husband right after he assaulted her. After Stella returns to Stanley, Blanche and Mitch sit at the bottom of the steps in the courtyard, where Mitch apologizes for Stanley's coarse behavior.
The next morning, Blanche rushes to Stella and describes Stanley as subhuman, though Stella assures Blanche that she and Stanley are fine. Stanley overhears the conversation but keeps silent. When Stanley comes in, Stella hugs and kisses him, letting Blanche know that her low opinion of Stanley does not matter.
As the weeks pass, the friction between Blanche and Stanley continues to grow. Blanche has hope in Mitch, and tells Stella that she wants to go away with him and not be anyone's problem. During a meeting between the two, Blanche confesses to Mitch that once she was married to a young man, Allan Grey, whom she later discovered in a sexual encounter with an older man. Grey later killed himself when Blanche told him she was disgusted with him. The story touches Mitch, who tells Blanche that they need each other. Mitch also has lost someone and seems to haveempathy with Blanche's situation.
Later, Stanley repeats gossip to Stella from a seedy salesman with contacts in Laurel that Blanche was fired from her teaching job for involvement with an under-age student and that she lived at a hotel known forprostitution. Stella erupts in anger over Stanley's cruelty after he reveals he has already told Mitch. Later that evening, at Blanche's birthday party, there is an empty seat at the table for Mitch. Stanley gives Blanche a birthday "present", a one-way ticket back to Laurel byGreyhound bus. An argument ensues between Stella and Stanley, but is cut short as Stella goes into unexpected labor and is taken by her husband to the hospital.
As Blanche waits at home alone, Mitch arrives and confronts Blanche with the stories that Stanley has told him. She eventually confesses that the stories are true. She pleads for forgiveness. An angry and humiliated Mitch rejects her. Nevertheless, he demands sex from her, suggesting that it is his right since he has waited for so long for nothing. Blanche threatens to cry fire and tells him to get out.
Stanley returns home to find Blanche alone in the apartment. She has descended into another fantasy about an old suitor coming to provide financial support and take her away from New Orleans. She falsely claims that Mitch had asked for her forgiveness, but she had rejected him. Stanley goes along with the act before angrily scorning Blanche's lies,hypocrisy and behavior, and calling out her lie about Mitch. He advances toward her; in response, she threatens to attack him with a broken bottle, but is overpowered. Blanche collapses on the floor and Stanley is last seen taking her unconscious into his bed.
Some time in the near future, during a poker game at the Kowalski apartment, Stella and Eunice are seen packing Blanche's meager belongings while Blanche takes a bath in acatatonic state, having suffered amental breakdown. Although Blanche has told Stella about Stanley raping her (which he denies), Stella cannot bring herself to believe her sister's story. When a doctor and a matron arrive to take Blanche to the hospital, she initially resists them and the nurse painfully restrains her. Mitch, present at the poker game, breaks down in tears. The doctor is far more gentle and she goes willingly with him, saying, "Whoever you are – I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." The poker game continues, uninterrupted.
Notable productions
| Characters | Broadway Debut | London Debut | Broadway Revival | London Revival | Broadway Revival | Australia Revival | London Revival | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 1949 | 1988 | 1992 | 2002 | 2005 | 2009 | 2014 | 2023 | ||
| Blanche DuBois | Jessica Tandy | Vivien Leigh | Blythe Danner | Jessica Lange | Glenn Close | Natasha Richardson | Cate Blanchett | Rachel Weisz | Gillian Anderson | Patsy Ferran |
| Stanley Kowalski | Marlon Brando | Bonar Colleano | Aidan Quinn | Alec Baldwin | Iain Glen | John C. Reilly | Joel Edgerton | Elliot Cowan | Ben Foster | Paul Mescal |
| Stella Kowalski | Kim Hunter | Renée Asherson | Frances McDormand | Amy Madigan | Essie Davis | Amy Ryan | Robin McLeavy | Ruth Wilson | Vanessa Kirby | Anjana Vasan |
| "Mitch" Mitchell | Karl Malden | Bernard Braden | Frank Converse | Timothy Carhart | Robert Pastorelli | Chris Bauer | Tim Richards | Barnaby Kay | Corey Johnson | Dwane Walcott |
The original Broadway production was produced byIrene Mayer Selznick and directed byElia Kazan.[3] It opened at the Shubert Theatre inNew Haven,Connecticut in early November 1947, then played theWalnut Street Theatre inPhiladelphia before moving to theEthel Barrymore Theatre on December 3, 1947.[3] Selznick originally wanted to castMargaret Sullavan andJohn Garfield, but settled on the less well-knownJessica Tandy and a virtual unknown at the time,Marlon Brando. The opening night cast also includedKim Hunter as Stella andKarl Malden as Mitch.[3] Tandy was cast after Williams saw her performance in a West Coast production of his one-act playPortrait of a Madonna. Williams believed that casting Brando, who was young for the part as it was originally conceived, would evolve Kowalski from being a vicious older man to someone whose unintentional cruelty can be attributed to youthful ignorance. Despite its shocking scenes and gritty dialogue, the audience applauded the debut performance.[5]Brooks Atkinson, reviewing the opening inThe New York Times, described Tandy's "superb performance" as "almost incredibly true", concluding that Williams "has spun a poignant and luminous story".[6]
Later in the run,Uta Hagen succeeded Tandy,Carmelita Pope succeeded Hunter, andAnthony Quinn succeeded Brando. Hagen and Quinn took the show on a national tour directed byHarold Clurman, and then returned to Broadway for additional performances.Ralph Meeker also took on the part of Stanley both in the Broadway and touring companies. Tandy received aTony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1948, sharing the honor withJudith Anderson andKatharine Cornell. The original Broadway production closed, after 855 performances, in 1949.
The original cast included,Jessica Tandy asBlanche DuBois,Karl Malden as Harold "Mitch" Mitchell,Marlon Brando asStanley Kowalski,Kim Hunter asStella Kowalski,Rudy Bond as Steve Hubbell,Nick Dennis as Pablo Gonzales,Peg Hillias as Eunice Hubbell, Vito Christi as Young Collector,Richard Garrick as Doctor, Ann Dere as Nurse (later called the Matron),Gee Gee James as Negro Woman andEdna Thomas as Mexican Woman.
The first adaptation ofStreetcar in Greece was performed in 1948 by Koun's Art Theater, two years before its film adaptation and one year before its London premiere, directed byKarolos Koun starringMelina Mercouri as Blanche andVasilis Diamantopoulos as Stanley, with original music byManos Hadjidakis.
The London production, directed byLaurence Olivier, opened at theAldwych Theatre on October 12, 1949. It starredBonar Colleano as Stanley,Vivien Leigh as Blanche,Renée Asherson as Stella andBernard Braden as Mitch.[7]
An Australian production withViola Keats as Blanche andArthur Franz as Stanley opened at theComedy Theatre in Melbourne in February 1950.[8]
The first all-black production ofStreetcar was likely performed by the Summer Theatre Company at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, in August 1953 and directed by one of Williams's former classmates at Iowa, Thomas D. Pawley, as noted in theStreetcar edition of the "Plays in Production" series published by Cambridge University Press.
Tallulah Bankhead, for whom Williams originally had written the role of Blanche, starred in a 1956 New York City Center Company production directed by Herbert Machiz.[9]
In 1972, American composerFrances Ziffer setA Streetcar Named Desire to music.[10]
The first Broadway revival of the play was in 1973. It was produced by theLincoln Center, at theVivian Beaumont Theater, and starredRosemary Harris as Blanche,James Farentino as Stanley andPatricia Conolly as Stella.[11]
In 1976,Rip Torn enlisted directorJack Gelber to helm a revival at the once celebrated Academy Festival Theatre inLake Forest, Illinois[12] starring himself as Stanley and his wifeGeraldine Page as Blanche. The production was threateningly realistic, projecting abrightly lit, garbage-filled stage reflecting a hostile, predatory world and immersing the audience in a totaltheatre experience. Gelber's Streetcar was troubling for the critics because it was raw, evendangerous. It pushed the Streetcar script to the farthest reaches ofurban violence and unabated naturalism. One review said "This is not the Blanche of butterfly wings. This is gossamer with guts." Page's performance was described as displaying little of Leigh's hysteria or Tandy's forlorn helplessness.[13]
The spring 1988 revival at theCircle in the Square Theatre starredAidan Quinn oppositeBlythe Danner as Blanche andFrances McDormand as Stella.[14]
A highly publicized and acclaimed revival in 1992 starredAlec Baldwin as Stanley andJessica Lange as Blanche. It was staged at theEthel Barrymore Theatre, where the original production was staged. This production proved so successful that it was filmed for television. It featuredTimothy Carhart as Mitch andAmy Madigan as Stella, as well as futureSopranos starsJames Gandolfini andAida Turturro. Gandolfini was Carhart's understudy.[15]
In 1997,Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carré in New Orleans mounted a 50th Anniversary production, with music by theMarsalis family, starringMichael Arata and Shelly Poncy. In 2009, theWalnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, where the original pre-Broadway tryout was held, staged a production of the play.
In 1997, at Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago IL, Gary Sinise as Stanley, John C Reilly as Mitch, Kathryn Erbe as Stella, and Laila Robins as Blanche.
Glenn Close starred inTrevor Nunn's 2002 production for theNational Theatre at the Lyttleton Theatre, London.
The 2005 Broadway revival was directed by Edward Hall and produced by The Roundabout Theater Company. It starredJohn C. Reilly as Stanley,Amy Ryan as Stella, andNatasha Richardson as Blanche.[16] The production was Richardson's final appearance on Broadway; she died in 2009 following a skiing accident.
Bette Bourne and Paul Shaw of the British gay theater company Bloolips, and Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver of the American lesbian theater company Split Britches, collaborated and performed a gender-bent adaptation titledBelle Reprieve. Blanche was played as "man in a dress", Stanley as a "butch lesbian", Mitch as a "fairy disguised as a man", and Stella as a "woman disguised as a woman".[17]
TheSydney Theatre Company production ofA Streetcar Named Desire premiered on September 5 and ran until October 17, 2009. This production, directed byLiv Ullmann, starredCate Blanchett as Blanche,Joel Edgerton as Stanley,Robin McLeavy as Stella and Tim Richards as Mitch.[18]
From July 2009 until October 2009,Rachel Weisz andRuth Wilson starred in a highly acclaimed revival of the play in London's West End at theDonmar Warehouse directed byRob Ashford.
In April 2012,Blair Underwood,Nicole Ari Parker,Daphne Rubin-Vega andWood Harris starred in a multiracial adaptation at theBroadhurst Theatre.[19] Theatre review aggregatorCurtain Critic gave the production a score of 61 out of 100 based on the opinions of 17 critics.[20]
A production at theYoung Vic, London, opened on July 23, 2014, and closed on September 19, 2014. Directed by Benedict Andrews and starringGillian Anderson,Ben Foster,Vanessa Kirby andCorey Johnson; this production garnered critical acclaim and is the fastest-selling show produced by the Young Vic.[21] On September 16, 2014, the performance was relayed live to over one thousand cinemas in the UK as part of theNational Theatre Live project.[22] Thus far, the production has been screened in over 2000 venues.[23] From April 23, 2016, until June 4, 2016, the production was reprised at the newSt. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York City.[24] In 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdowns, it was released for free on YouTube as part of the National Theatre At Home series.[25]
In 2016Sarah Frankcom directed a production at theRoyal Exchange in Manchester starringMaxine Peake,Ben Batt,Sharon Duncan Brewster andYoussef Kerkour. It opened on 8 September and closed on 15 October. It was well-received, and Peake's performance in particular received praise.[26]
In 2018, it headlined the third annual Tennessee Williams Festival St. Louis at the Grandel Theatre. Carrie Houk, the Festival's Executive Artistic Director, and Tim Ocel, the director of the play, chose to cast the play with actors whose ages were close to Tennessee Williams' original intentions. (The birthday party is for Blanche's 30th birthday.) Sophia Brown starred as Blanche, with Nick Narcisi as Stanley, Lana Dvorak as Stella, and Spencer Sickmann as Mitch. Henry Polkes composed the original score, and James Wolk designed the set. The critics were unanimous in their praise.[27][28]
The play was revived again in 2022 at London'sAlmeida Theatre under the direction ofRebecca Frecknall, withPatsy Ferran taking the role of Blanche oppositePaul Mescal as Stanley, andAnjana Vasan as Stella. The play received widespread critical acclaim[29] and itsWest End transfer became the fastest-selling production to date in anyAmbassador Theatre Group venue.[30] The revival received 6Laurence Olivier Awards nominations, winning 3: Best Revival; and Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress for Mescal and Vasan respectively.[31][32]
In February 2024,Sewanee: the University of the South, a liberal arts school that received much of Tennessee Williams' estate, revived the play, under the direction of James Crawford. The Tennessee Williams Center in Sewanee houses the university's theatre departments while the school owns the rights to Williams' works.[33] With the show being sold out within days, the production received local acclaim from residents and the student body.
APitlochry Festival Theatre production of the play, directed by Elizabeth Newman and with Kirsty Stuart in the role of Blanche DuBois, was staged at theLyceum Theatre, Edinburgh in October and November 2024.[34]
The 2022 Almeida Theatre production is scheduled to return to the West End for a limited three week run at theNoël Coward Theatre from 3 February 2025. The show is then scheduled to transfer to New York City at theBrooklyn Academy of Music from 28 February 2025. The entire 2022 revival cast is expected to reprise their roles.[35]
In March 2025 a Sheffield Theatres production is running at theCrucible Theatre in Sheffield. Directed by Josh Seymour. The cast includesJoanna Vanderham as Blanche. With Amara Okereke as Stella, Jake Dunn as Stanley and Taylor Kovacevic-Ebong as Mitch.
In 1951,Warner Bros. releaseda film adaptation of the play, directed byElia Kazan. Malden, Brando, Dennis, and Hunter reprised their Broadway roles. They were joined byVivien Leigh from the London production in the part of Blanche. The movie won fourAcademy Awards, including three acting awards (Leigh forBest Actress, Malden forBest Supporting Actor and Hunter forBest Supporting Actress), the first time a film won three out of four acting awards (Brando was nominated forBest Actor but lost). ComposerAlex North received an Academy Award nomination for this, his first film score. Jessica Tandy was the only lead actor from the original Broadway production not to appear in the 1951 film.[36] The ending was slightly altered. Stella does not remain with Stanley as she does in the play.
Pedro Almodóvar's 1999Academy Award-winning filmAll About My Mother features a Spanish-language version of the play being performed by some of the supporting characters and the play plays an important role in the film. However, some of the film's dialogue is taken from the 1951 film version, not the original stage version.
The 1973Woody Allen filmSleeper includes a late scene in which Miles (Woody) and Luna (Diane Keaton) briefly take on the roles of Stanley (Luna) and Blanche (Miles).
It was noted by many critics that the 2013 Academy Award-winningWoody Allen filmBlue Jasmine had much in common withStreetcar and is most likely a loose adaptation. It shares a very similar plot and characters, although it has been suitably updated for modern film audiences.[37][38]
In 2014,Gillian Anderson directed and starred in a short prequel toA Streetcar Named Desire, titledThe Departure. The short film was written by the novelistAndrew O'Hagan and is part ofYoung Vic's short film series, which was produced in collaboration withThe Guardian.[39]
In 1995,an opera was adapted and composed byAndré Previn with a libretto by Philip Littell. It had its premiere at theSan Francisco Opera during the 1998–1999 season, and featuredRenée Fleming as Blanche.
A 1952 ballet production with choreography byValerie Bettis, whichMia Slavenska andFrederic Franklin's Slavenska-Franklin Ballet debuted at Her Majesty's Theatre inMontreal, featured the music ofAlex North, who had composed the music for the 1951 film.[40]
Another ballet production was staged byJohn Neumeier in Frankfurt in 1983. Music includedVisions fugitives byProkofiev andAlfred Schnittke'sFirst Symphony.
In the mid-2000s, another production was staged by Winthrop Corey, then artistic director of Mobile Ballet.[41]
In 2006, a production was staged by John Alleyne, then artistic director of Ballet BC.
In 2012, Scottish Ballet collaborated with theatre and film directorNancy Meckler and international choreographerAnnabelle Lopez Ochoa to create a staging ofA Streetcar Named Desire.[42]
In 2018, the Erkel Theatre in Budapest revisited the production with Marianna Venekei choreographing, Iurii Kekalo dancing as Stanley Kowalski, Lea Földi as Blanche DuBois, and Anna Krupp as Stella.[43]
In 1955, the television programOmnibus featuredJessica Tandy reviving her original Broadway performance as Blanche, with her husband,Hume Cronyn, as Mitch. It aired only portions of the play that featured the Blanche and Mitch characters.
The 1984 television version featuredAnn-Margret as Blanche,Treat Williams as Stanley,Beverly D'Angelo as Stella andRandy Quaid as Mitch. It was directed byJohn Erman and the teleplay was adapted byOscar Saul. The music score by composed byMarvin Hamlisch. Ann-Margret, D'Angelo and Quaid were all nominated forEmmy Awards, but none won. However, it did win four Emmys, including one for cinematographerBill Butler. Ann-Margret won aGolden Globe award for her performance, and Treat Williams was nominated for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Movie.
A 1995 television version was based on the highly successful Broadway revival that starredAlec Baldwin andJessica Lange. However, only Baldwin and Lange were from the stage production. The TV version addedJohn Goodman as Mitch andDiane Lane as Stella. This production was directed byGlenn Jordan. Baldwin, Lange and Goodman all receivedEmmy Award nominations. Lange won aGolden Globe award (for Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie), and Baldwin was nominated for Best Actor.
In 1998, PBS aired a taped version of the opera adaptation that featured the originalSan Francisco Opera cast. The program received anEmmy Award nomination for Outstanding Classical Music/Dance Program.[44]
In a 1992 episode ofThe Simpsons, "A Streetcar Named Marge", a musical version of the play, titledOh, Streetcar!, was featured.Ned Flanders andMarge Simpson took the leading roles as Stanley and Blanche, respectively.[45]
In 2014, singer Sinead O'Connor released "Streetcars," a song that references the play in its title and themes.
In a 2016 episode ofThe Originals, titled "A Streetcar Named Desire", Klaus Mikaelson and Elijah Mikaelson are forced to face two siblings, Tristan and Aurora de Martel, once friends but now foes.
The Desire Line ran from 1920 to 1948, at the height of streetcar use in New Orleans. The route ran down Royal, through the Quarter, toDesire Street in theBywater district, and back up to Canal. Blanche's route in the play—"They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at—Elysian Fields!"—is allegorical, taking advantage of New Orleans's colorful street names: the Desire line crossedElysian Fields Avenue on its way to Canal Street. There, one could transfer to the Cemeteries line, which ran along Canal, blocks away from Elysian Fields.
The character of Blanche is thought to be based on Williams' sister, Rose Williams, who struggled with mental health problems and became incapacitated after alobotomy. The success of the play enabled Williams to finance his sister's care.[46] Other biographical elements include Williams' mother being a Southern lady reflected in the Southern background of Stella and Blanche, and his father being a travelling salesman (as reflected in Stanley's character) who enjoyed drinking and playing poker with his friends. Williams was born in Columbus, Mississippi and had a family home in St. Louis. The common motifs of homosexuality and mental illness in the play come from his struggle with his sexual orientation and his experience with his sister's mental illness. Stanley's loathing for Blanche's prim and proper attitude probably was inspired by Williams's father's aversion to his mother's Southern airs.[47]
The theatre critic and former actressBlanche Marvin, a friend of Williams, says the playwright used her name for the character Blanche DuBois, named the character's sister Stella after Marvin's former surname Zohar (which means Star), and took the play's line "I've always depended on the kindness of strangers" from something she said to him.[48]
"A Streetcar Named Success" is an essay byTennessee Williams about art and the artist's role in society. It often is included in paper editions ofA Streetcar Named Desire. A version of this essay first appeared inThe New York Times on November 30, 1947, four days before the opening ofA Streetcar Named Desire. Another version of this essay, titled "The Catastrophe of Success", is sometimes used as an introduction toThe Glass Menagerie.
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Pulitzer Prize for Drama | Tennessee Williams | Won | ||
| New York Drama Critics' Circle | Best Play | Won | |||
| Tony Award | Best Actress in a Play | Jessica Tandy | Won | ||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Tony Award | Best Actor in a Play | Alec Baldwin | Nominated | |
| Theater World Award | Best Actress in a Play | Jessica Lange | Won |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Tony Award | Best Revival of a Play | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress in a Play | Blythe Danner | Nominated | |||
| Frances McDormand | Nominated | ||||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Play | Essie Davis | Won |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Amy Ryan | Nominated | |
| Best Costume Design of a Play | William Ivey Long | Nominated | |||
| Best Lighting Design of a Play | Donald Holder | Nominated |
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Revival | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Rachel Weisz | Won | |||
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Ruth Wilson | Won | |||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Revival of a Play | Nominated | ||
| Best Actress | Gillian Anderson | Nominated | |||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Revival | Won | ||
| Best Actor | Paul Mescal | Won | |||
| Best Actress | Patsy Ferran | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Anjana Vasan | Won | |||
| Best Director | Rebecca Frecknall | Nominated | |||
| Best Lighting Design | Lee Curan | Nominated | |||
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance Award | Paul Mescal | Nominated | [49] |
| Dorian Awards | Outstanding Performance in a Off-Broadway Play | Patsy Ferran | Pending | [50] | |
| Paul Mescal | Pending | ||||
| Theater World Award | Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance | Patsy Ferran | Won | [51] | |
| Paul Mescal | Won |
